Raychel Ria Agramon
Just as it’s important to splash out on stocks or real estate, it’s crucial to invest in yourself emotionally.
And for this to happen, you need to follow these 15 key tips:
1) Find your true life purpose
What would you say if I asked you what your purpose is?
It’s a tricky question to answer!
And there are far too many people trying to tell you it will just “come to you.”
Some would even tell you to focus on “raising your vibrations” or finding some vague form of inner peace.
Self-help gurus are out there preying on people’s insecurities to make money and selling them techniques that really don’t work for achieving your dreams.
Visualization.
Meditation.
Sage burning ceremonies with some vaguely indigenous chanting music in the background.
Hit pause.
The truth is that visualization and positive vibes won’t bring you closer to your dreams. In fact, they can actually drag you back into wasting your life on a fantasy.
But it’s hard to emotionally invest in yourself when you’re being hit with so many different claims.
You can try so hard and not find the answers you need. In the end, your life and dreams may begin to feel hopeless.
You want solutions, but all you’re being told is to create a perfect utopia inside your own mind. It doesn’t work.
So let’s go back to basics:
If you want to experience a fundamental change, you need to know your purpose.
I learned about the power of finding your purpose from watching Ideapod co-founder Justin Brown’s video on the hidden trap of improving yourself.
Four years ago, he traveled to Brazil to meet the renowned shaman Rudá Iandê, for a different perspective.
Rudá taught him a life-changing new way to find your purpose and use it to transform your life.
After watching the video, I also discovered and understood my purpose in life and it’s no exaggeration to say it was a turning point in my life.
I can honestly say that this new way of finding your purpose actually helped me invest in myself emotionally.
2) Eat healthily
Investing in yourself emotionally means improving your current state. If you feel sad or anxious, you’d want to feel the opposite.
After all, it’s hard to be productive when you’re feeling down or blue.
You see, what you eat affects your mental and emotional health.
In other words, you are what you eat. If you eat poorly, then you’ll feel bad.
Aso Dr. Gabriela Cora explains it:
“When you stick to a diet of healthy food, you’re setting yourself up for fewer mood fluctuations, an overall happier outlook, and an improved ability to focus. Studies have even found that healthy diets can help with symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
3) Sleep well
If you want to invest in yourself emotionally, you also need to sleep well.
See, it’s easy to lose sleep when you’re busy and all over the place.
As Harvard experts put it, “Poor or inadequate sleep can cause irritability and stress.”
Additionally, “After a sleepless night, you may be more irritable, short-tempered, and vulnerable to stress. Once you sleep well, your mood often returns to normal.”
So if you want to put your poor sleeping habits to bed once and for all (pun intended,) then you need to follow these tips:
- Maintain a comfortable sleeping environment.
- Follow a regular sleep-wake schedule (remember: adults need about 7 hours per night.)
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol before bedtime.
- Don’t eat or drink too much before bedtime.
- Avoid napping before bedtime.
4) Read
Reading does more than just boost your intellect. According to experts, it can benefit your emotions too.
As per neurologist Dr. Emer MacSweeney, reading “helps help you relax and reduce stress in your body and mind.”
In fact, Dr. MacSweeney recommends sleeping before hitting the sack. (As I’ve previously mentioned, good sleep is crucial if you want to invest in yourself.) It can help you unwind and prepare your body for sleep as well.
He recommends skimming through hard copies, though, as e-books emit light that can get in the way of sleeping.
5) Learn something new
Emotionally investing in yourself means scaling new, greater heights. But of course, this wouldn’t be possible if you refused to learn new things.
That’s why it’s essential to master something new – be it an unrelated skill or hobby – every opportunity you can.
As Harvard Business Review authors explain it:
“Learning new things helps us develop feelings of competence and self-efficacy (a sense of being capable of achieving goals and doing more). Learning also helps connect us to an underlying purpose of growth and development.”
6) Meditate
Meditation is another excellent way to invest in yourself. Like the tips above, it can help you get rid of stress – and enjoy that well-deserved inner peace.
It’s so effective that 6-9 months of constant meditation may help reduce your anxiety levels by 60%.
It can also improve brain function by 50% and energy by 60%.
Meditation is recommended if you’re experiencing sleeping problems too. According to statistics, it can help insomniacs sleep within a brief 20-minute timeframe.
If you’re new to meditation, make sure to check the 18 best techniques here.
7) Socialize
No man is an island.
According to psychologist Dr. Craig Sawchuk: “We are social animals by nature, so we tend to function better when we’re in a community and being around others.”
People who tend to isolate themselves have higher chances of depression – and a lower quality of life.
So if you want to invest in yourself emotionally, you need to socialize and put yourself out there.
Dr. Sawchuk adds: “Socializing not only staves off feelings of loneliness, but also it helps sharpen memory and cognitive skills, increases your sense of happiness and well-being, and may even help you live longer.”
Remember: real-life socialization is always best, but connecting via technology (especially in this pandemic) works just as well!
8) Establish a budget
It’s no secret that money (and the lack thereof) can harm your mental and emotional health. It can trigger anxiety, panic, as well as insomnia!
On top of that, being financially strapped means not being able to afford the basic things you need, such as healthy food, shelter, and medication, among many other things.
It may also make you feel isolated because you don’t have the means to socialize with family or friends.
So if you don’t want these bad things to happen, you need to make (and stick) to a budget. Remember:
- Budgeting can help reduce stress because you can ‘control’ your finances.
- It can help boost your immunity since it helps reduce stress in the first place!
- Budgeting prevents you from overextending yourself (which can also lead to additional stress.)
- It can help you invest more in healthcare.
- Best of all, budgeting can help you establish the life you want to live! A healthy body = a healthy mind!
9) Organize and clean your place
It may not feel like it, but organizing and cleaning your place is a form of self-care. Not only is it good for your house, but it’s good for your mind as well!
You see, a “messy or cluttered environment can leave your brain feeling that your overall life is messy or disorganized. This can increase your feelings of depression and/or anxiety,” explains psychologist Neha Khorana, Ph.D.
That’s why cleaning is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
According to Neha Mistry, Psy.D., a fellow clinical psychologist: “When you clean [and organize], you’re actively working toward changing the outcome (in this case, changing a cluttered space to a cleaner space.) This act can simply provide a sense of control.”
And, when you’re in control, you’ll find it easier to manage the more stressful situations in your life. The result? Better mood and a stronger feeling of empowerment!
Speaking of empowerment…
10) Tap into your personal power
One of the best ways to invest in yourself emotionally is to tap into your personal power.
You see, we all have an incredible amount of power and potential within us. Unfortunately, most of us never tap into it.
We become bogged down in self-doubt and limiting beliefs.
We stop doing what brings us true happiness.
I learned this from the shaman Rudá Iandê, whom I have previously discussed. He’s helped thousands of people align work, family, spirituality, and love so they can unlock the door to their personal power.
He has a unique approach that combines traditional ancient shamanic techniques with a modern-day twist. It’s an approach that uses nothing but your own inner strength – no gimmicks or fake claims of empowerment.
Remember: true empowerment needs to come from within.
In his excellent free video, Rudá explains how you can create the life you’ve always dreamed of and increase attraction in your partners, and it’s easier than you might think.
So if you want to invest in yourself emotionally, you need to check out his life-changing advice.
Click here to watch the free video.
11) Acknowledge your weaknesses
As I’ve explained, it’s crucial to tap into your personal power and identify your strengths. But if you don’t acknowledge your weaknesses, the journey will even be more challenging.
As author Martha Beck thoughtfully puts it:
“Acceptance helps you feel free to make calm, thoughtful choices, whereas rejection makes you freeze or run back to your worst habits for comfort.”
See, accepting your weaknesses makes you a better, strong-willed person. You know you’ve got limitations (who doesn’t?), but you try to make the most out of them.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
12) Work on your bad habits
It’s hard to nip bad habits in the bud right away. But if you’re serious about investing in yourself, you need to do your hardest and work on them.
For example, if you are a chain-smoker, you can try to minimize the packs you smoke per day.
If you are a procrastinator, you should try doing things before your deadline.
Sure, it’s hard to say goodbye to these bad habits – especially if you’ve been doing them for quite some time.
But, as time progresses, you’ll eventually get rid of them.
Practice makes perfect, I say.
13) Be a risk-taker
Are you the kind of person who avoids risks? While staying at a comfortable place is good, it won’t bring you anywhere.
If you want to invest in yourself, you need to transform yourself into a bold risk-taker.
See, the higher your investments are, the higher the returns.
And, in case you lose, you really don’t lose much. You’ll walk away with hard-earned lessons that could influence how you make decisions in the future.
14) Say no
Maybe you’re a naive person who can’t say no. As a result, people end up taking advantage of you.
You end up doing things for them – and not getting anything in return.
This can be emotionally draining, to say the least.
That said, investing in yourself means stepping up once and for all. Say no to favors and requests if you don’t feel comfortable doing them.
Remember: assertion is crucial if you want to improve yourself.
15) Always think: “this is it!”
Sure, there are instances in life when you get a second chance. But if you want to invest in yourself successfully, you always need to think: this is it!
Having a sense of finality will push you to do things better or faster. When you condition your mind that it’s your last chance, you’ll be more likely to gamble everything.
High risk, high return.
Again, this circles back to the previous tip: it’s all about taking bold risks!
Final thoughts
Investing in yourself emotionally means doing what’s best for your mind – and body. That means eating and sleeping well, reading, meditating, and socializing, among many other things.
Most importantly, you need to do things that’ll make you a better person. Tapping into your personal power, working on your bad habits, and taking risks will help you in your journey towards self-improvement.
